Florida State basketball overpowered in loss at No. 2 Purdue

A short-handed Florida State basketball team was no match for the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday evening as the Seminoles fell 93-65. With three players unavailable, FSU had no answers for Purdue’s high-powered offense. The Boilermakers shot 59% from the field and made 12 three-pointers. Five Boilermakers were in double-digits. Caleb Mills produced a season-high 22 points on 9-16 shooting, but it was not enough to keep the game close.

According to DraftKings, the Boilermakers were 11 point favorites over FSU.

Florida State entered one of the toughest atmospheres in the country with two freshmen starting. With two starters (RayQuan Evans and Tanor Ngom) out, John Butler made his first career start and Jalen Warley made his second. The freshmen made the Seminoles’ first two baskets. Warley banked in a floater to get FSU on the board. Butler made a corner three after an offensive board to square the game at five. Jaden Ivey’s second triple gave the Boilermakers a 10-5 lead at the first media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Malik Osborne hit a pair of free throws. Warley’s second floater cut the early deficit to one. Ivey’s hot start put the Seminoles in an early hole. His third triple in as many tries put Purdue up 16-9 and forced a Leonard Hamilton timeout under seven minutes in. Harrison Prieto got early action with backup center Naheem McLeod out. Prieto hot a triple out of the timeout to put an end to a 6-0 run. Matthew Cleveland responded to an and-one with a fast-break dunk to put FSU down five at the under-12 TO.

The Boilermakers opened up an early double-digit lead. Back-to-back triples by Isaiah Thompson and an FSU scoring drought of over two minutes gave Purdue a 13-point lead just ten minutes in. Zach Edey (7’4, 295 pounds) imposed his will in the paint early with a quick eight points. The freshmen helped the Seminoles stop the bleeding. Warley made an up-and-under lay-up, before Butler made his second triple. A Caleb Mills dunk trimmed the deficit to eight with seven minutes remaining in the half.

A pair of Purdue buckets, including an Ivey dunk, extended Purdue’s lead back to double digits. Veteran Anthony Polite had a crucial response with his first made three-pointer. The Boilermakers made back-to-back second chance buckets to head to the final media TO of the half with a 39-28 lead.

Wyatt Wilkes found Cam’Ron Fletcher in the corner for a wide-open triple to cut the deficit back to single digits, but the Boilermakers kept making shots. Back-to-back buckets by Brandon Newman, including a three-pointer, put Purdue up 13. A layup by Ivey gave Purdue their largest lead of the half at 16.

Purdue led 48-32 at the half as they shot 63% from the field. FSU didn’t play awful, the Boilermakers just showed off their elite offense. Four Boilermakers had at least eight and Ivey led with 13 points. Florida State shot 38% from the field. FSU had 16 points off turnovers, while Purdue had none. The Boilermakers had 12 second chance points and averaged 1.412 points per possession. Warley, Mills, and Butler each had 6 to lead the ‘Noles.

Mills got off to a hot start in the second half. He made three straight jumpers, including his first triple, in a stretch of less than two minutes. Ivey hit his fourth triple to keep Purdue distanced from the ‘Noles. Despite starting the half 4-6 from the field, the Seminoles could only trim the deficit by two points at the first media timeout of the half.

The Houston transfer showed off his elite offensive skills over and over early in the second frame. He used his length to finish inside. Mills then showed off his court vision with a cross-court pass to Fletcher for his second triple.

The Seminoles trailed by 11 at the U12 TO. Mills produced 11 points on 5-6 shooting through the first eight minutes of the half to keep FSU in the game.

Mills continued to torch the Boilermakers out of the timeout. Off an inbounds pass, the guard netted his second triple to up his total to 20. But Purdue had an immediate response as Newman hit a three-pointer of his own. Cleveland showed off his youth with a missed layup and a travel on back-to-back fast-break possessions to cost FSU a pair of chances to cut the deficit to single digits. The veteran Purdue squad took advantage of the missed opportunities and ran away from the game.

Sasha Stefanovic’s first triple made it a 14-point lead after two empty possessions for FSU off Purdue turnovers. Three free throws and another Stefanovic three-pointer made it a 20-point Purdue lead in the blink of an eye. FSU missed five straight field goals as the Boilermakers went on a 12-0 run over 2:50. Purdue led 71-51 with 8:32 remaining as Hamilton called his second timeout.

Back-to-back buckets for Butler upped his total to double digits, but the Boilermakers couldn’t be stopped on the offensive end. Hamilton called his third timeout as Purdue opened up an 83-59 lead with 4:46 remaining.

BOX SCORE

GAME THREAD

Up next: FSU will be back at the Tucker Center on Saturday to open up ACC play against the Syracuse Orange. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM. The game will be televised on ACC Network.